New York Giants' general manager Joe Schoen gave tons of praise to newly-hired head coach John Harbaugh during his opening press conference on Tuesday.
It’s finally official. The New York Giants have found their next head coach for the 2026 NFL season and beyond in former Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
While there may have been bumps in the road over the course of the head coach search, Harbaugh was introduced as the next head coach on Tuesday afternoon during a team press conference. And moments before he took the podium, general manager Joe Schoen gave the prominent figure a warm welcome, claiming that the Giants found a “proven winner” and “an elite leader.”
“When we set out [on the team’s quest for a new head coach], we were looking for a proven winner and an elite leader. And we were fortunate to find both,” Schoen stated. “John Harbaugh [has] amassed 103 career victories, 13 playoff wins, and a Super Bowl Championship. John has built a foundation of culture, player development, and toughness throughout each of his programs he’s been part of. He’s a proven winner, and when we set out to do this, we knew that John was going to be the perfect person for the New York Giants.”
After spending the last 18 seasons with the Ravens, Harbaugh officially parted ways with the organization this offseason after missing the playoffs for his sixth time in his career. The highly-regarded head coach finished his tenure in Baltimore with a 180-113 regular-season record, as well as a 13-11 record in the playoffs that includes a Super Bowl victory back in 2013.
However, before he would become the next head coach of the Giants, NFL insider Ian O’Connor reported that the hold-up between the 63-year-old and the organization was due to the structure of his contract.
According to O’Connor, instead of reporting to Schoen, Harbaugh wanted to report to owner John Mura, which was similar to his contract structure with the Ravens.
The reason why this could be important for the new head coach is that Schoen is viewed by many to be on the hot seat, while also giving Harbaugh a voice in the decision-making process.
In addition to his strong praise for Harbaugh, Schoen also mentioned that the respect his former players had for him “continually came up” in discussions.
“When we did our research, what continually came up was John’s respect that the players had for him, and the ability to develop young men,” Schoen claimed.
With Harbaugh now officially taking over as the next head coach, Giants fans will hope that the experienced, proven coach can get the organization back on track in 2026.
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